Neale Richmond (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Tánaiste and thank him very much for coming back. Given his brief, I could raise 1 million issues with him, but as I only have five minutes, I will skip Brexit, on which I have 1 million opinions.

I commend the Government's commitment to the provision of overseas development aid. I had the genuine privilege of visiting the South Sudanese-Ugandan border with Irish Aid in autumn 2017 where I saw the work being done by our people on the ground and through our agencies. It is testament to the rich history of Ireland in terms of the work of our development agencies and missionaries and something we need to maintain and continue. That responsibility feeds into the general Irish narrative, on which I would like to focus, namely, Ireland's place in the world. I accept that we are a very small nation and that this is a very small island, but the slogan is "An island at the centre of the world". That is a very good and relevant slogan when so many other nations and states are closing themselves off, most notably the United States where the President has made worrying comments about tariffs on steel imports and our nearest neighbour, the United Kingdom. Ireland can be the bastion of brightness that believes in an open, tolerant society; that will always welcome people from other countries and that will send its people abroad to work, play, study and give so much to the world.

On the Irish global footprint, I have a few questions for the Tánaiste about the Department's strategy when it comes to increasing our diplomatic footprint throughout the world in the context of the Ireland House concept in bringing together not just our diplomatic and consular efforts but also the efforts of agencies such as Bord Bia, Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland, Irish Aid and so many others, to show that what Ireland can bring to the global stage is a very strong and powerful tool, not just to get our message out but also to sell Ireland to bring people and businesses here and support Irish people, businesses and entities working and operating abroad. I very much welcome the announcement made by the Tánaiste before Christmas on an increased diplomatic footprint through the opening of five new embassies and consulates. Will he indicate which is next?

I welcome the prioritisation of New Zealand, but there is so much more we could do to strengthen existing embassies both within and beyond the European Union. However, there is also a lot more we could do to strengthen our consular footprint beyond embassies. There is huge scope in that regard in the United Kingdom. The embassy in London is one of the busiest, if not the busiest, of our embassies. Last May I visited the consulate in Edinburgh and it is doing excellent work with the Irish diaspora and also in promoting increased engagement between Ireland and Scotland, economically and educationally. That work is reciprocated here by the very strong Scottish office. Is there scope to look at the northern English powerhouse which is supported by the United Kingdom Government. For want of a much better word, could we devolve some of the responsibilities from the embassy in London and consider having a new operation in Manchester, Liverpool or Leeds to focus on the north of England and, in turn, consider an administration in Cardiff and also in the midlands where historically there has been a very strong Irish population in places such as Coventry, Birmingham but which are also places to which Irish businesses are increasingly going. As the United Kingdom, regrettably, leaves the European Union, we must be sure we will maintain the closest possible relations through our EU membership but also through our existing diplomatic relationship which is as strong now as it has ever been, as highlighted by the various state visits. I commend the Tánaiste, his Department and Ministers of State on all the work that is being done. Many thousands of Irish people are working through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in very difficult situations. The role our diplomats, peacekeepers and aid agencies play abroad shows Ireland in the best possible light. We have an opportunity now to double, triple or quadruple that impact, and that could benefit our small country in very many ways.